Leica X Vario: Big Image Sensor, Slow Zoom Lens

The latest digital camera from Leica features an APS-C sensor and a zoom lens, but its light-gathering capabilities are modest at best.

After a few weeks of teasing a new camera on its website, German camera maker Leica has announced a new compact digital camera. The Leica X Vario is similar in design to the X2, packing an SLR-sized 16-megapixel APS-C image sensor into a relatively small body. The X2 uses a prime lens that gives you about the same field of view as a 35mm lens on a full-frame camera, and has a maximum aperture of f/2.8. The X Vario swaps that out for a zoom. Its 28-70mm f/3.5-6.4 (35mm equivalent) lens will allow you to change the focal length, but its aperture is rather narrow and it doesn't feature optical image stabilization.

The camera measures 2.9 by 5.2 by 3.7 inches (HWD) and weighs about 1.5 pounds. It doesn't have built-in viewfinder, so you'll have to add an external EVF via its accessory port or use the rear 3-inch 920k-dot display to frame and review photos. The lens has a manual zoom ring and a manual focus ring. Autofocus is supported, and can be engaged simply by twisting the focus ring to a marked AF position. A copy of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is included with the camera.

The CMOS image sensor has a sensitivity range of ISO 100-12500 and supports video capture at 1080p30 quality. There's a hot shoe, which features an accessory port that accommodates the same EVF that can be used with the X2 and Leica M. Aperture is controlled via a top-mounted control dial. It supports Raw image capture in the DNG format, and can also be set to capture JPG images.

As you would expect from a Leica camera, its materials and pricing are both premium. The top plate is machined from solid aluminum, and the body is constructed from magnesium and aluminum, and covered in a soft leather trim.

The Vario X is priced at $2,850. It is available to order from Leica dealers today.

Senior digital camera analyst for the PCMag consumer electronics reviews team, Jim Fisher is a graduate of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he concentrated on documentary video production. Jim's interest in photography really took off when he borrowed his father's Hasselblad 500C and light meter in 2007. He honed his writing skills at retailer B&H Photo, where he wrote thousands upon thousands of product descriptions, blog posts, and reviews. Since then he's shot with hundreds of camera models, ranging from pocket point-and-shoots to medium format...
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